From Breadboard to PCB

Elektor PCB Service: the ‘one-stop’ PCB shop

You wouldn’t be the first to have a project grind to halt because of the PCB design. Everything is so easy while a project ‘lives’ on a breadboard or as an ‘aerial construction’... with a little soldering any problem is then quickly resolved. But the step to a final PCB design looks like a completely separate project! It starts with the choice of CAD software (Eagle/Cadsoft, DesignSpark or Altium to mention just a few). Then you need a library with all the right components and the question of whether it should be ‘through-hole’ or SMD immediately arises as well. What about the cooling of the components and the routing of signals with high frequencies? All this has to be brought together in the PCB design. Oh, and don’t forget, it may also need to have a USB connector and/or a power supply connection.